Date:27/04/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/04/27/stories/2007042702301500.htm

National

South Indian favourites taken off fare

Special Correspondent

POPULAR: Some of the popular south Indian dishes

NEW DELHI : The Railways has come under fire from the travelling public, especially those bound for Southern destinations, for having virtually eliminated the South Indian favourites — Idli, banana fry and dosa — from its menu. In a notification to overhaul the menu and make it passenger friendly, several items have been eliminated. The Railways has brought down the number of items from 130 to 21.

Some South Indian items are much sought after by passengers on the Northern and Central circuits as well.

Although the Railway officials claim that it was only an experiment being tried out to upgrade the services, not all are convinced.

IRCTC comes under fire

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that handles the contracts and services has also come under fire for not keeping in mind the sensitivities of the people while making such major changes in the menu.

A senior IRCTC official maintained that no drastic changes had been made.

He said South Indian dishes were still available and were served for vegetarian breakfast. Standard vegetarian meal consists of rice, sambhar, vegetable curry, curd and pickle — all South Indian preparations.

The official said the restriction was only on the al-a-carte items and that too on a trial basis for three months. This was done to streamline the weight and rate of al-a-carte items and avoid over-charging.

He said the IRCTC was aware that the most popular items on trains were the South Indian dishes and there was no intention to reduce or remove them from the menu. The present al-a-carte list would be expanded in the near future to include all popular South Indian dishes, he maintained.